1. Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!

Next seasons squad and out of contract players

Discussion in 'Ipswich Town' started by stretchyboy, Feb 15, 2019.

  1. YorkieLancsHampyLondoner

    YorkieLancsHampyLondoner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2011
    Messages:
    10,646
    Likes Received:
    2,402
    Westy if it really upsets you that much don’t set the bait in the first place.
     
    #101
  2. Westlake33

    Westlake33 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2011
    Messages:
    5,457
    Likes Received:
    1,179
    You need to learn some manners - i Can give/ take banter well but with you I just think your a piece of s*** to be honest with you. The “bait” your apparently dangling is on sooo many articles, articles okay then Hampy will start twisting things, it’s just the same broken record really.

    It’s got to the point that you’ve singlehandedly stopped many people posting on here, they can’t be bothered due to you. Congratulations. Hope your happy with yourself, people who actually knew something about football as opposed to the constant w*** you come out with.

    I just find it quite pathetic you’re still the same five years on. Still, kudos to you and your “great banter “ you no doubt find Miranda and Mrs Browns boys funny.

    Essentially Spanish summed it up perfectly, you really are a f***ing Twot.
     
    #102
  3. Mike_Holmes1990

    Mike_Holmes1990 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2011
    Messages:
    1,006
    Likes Received:
    471
    Westy, I find a bit strange that in the same post you ask happy to learn manners and call him names. I also only see you and fieldmarshall mocking points and signatures. Hampy is evidently very entrenched in his opinions, you can disagree, it's what we're here for, but no one's obliged to stop arguing/defending their point just because someone else has a different opinion.

    Back to the topic at hand, I have no faith that we'll keep or adequately replace Chalobah, Judge, but some promising youth products coming through. Some (Bishop) starting to show what we always thought they could, a squad that is full of players with lower league experience, a managers whose only period of success began with league one are all reasons to be relatively confident we'look be able to bounce back.

    Real danger that Evans will assume it'll happen on its own though. Club still seems to think we might escape the drop.
     
    #103
  4. Westlake33

    Westlake33 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2011
    Messages:
    5,457
    Likes Received:
    1,179
    Nah I’ve had quite enough with how Hampy continuously conducts himself and I think this is the one that’s going to break the camels back. I come on here to have a laugh with people, enjoyed meeting you in real life Mike along with Field, however due to how argumentative Hampy has been over time we’ve lost regulars. A couple of people I’ve met too. I know this, as they’ve messaged me saying nice to have met you, I won’t be using this forum any longer due to Hampy. So I’m quite annoyed with Hampy time, after time, after time condescending many a forum user, being difficult, and just going around in circle.

    So I think something is about to change my end in the next 48 hours on here, come on here to have a laugh / debate things Itfc but it gets very wearing having the same issue time and time again.

    Oh correct, we all have different opinions- however one person, Hampy, sucks the life out of debate many a time in such a condescending nasty manner - I bring you back to the point - he alone has cost the forum various good users you and I used to have debate with.

    As I stated earlier this season, I’ve witnessed his s*** for years but never got too involved- however hsve said this season I won’t be tolerating it. This is due to finally being annoyed at how many people have left.

    So here’s to you, Hampy, and your great ‘banter’. Thank you very much.
     
    #104
    fieldmarshall likes this.
  5. Westlake33

    Westlake33 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2011
    Messages:
    5,457
    Likes Received:
    1,179
    Yeah interesting summer ahead Mike I think is fair to say!
     
    #105
  6. Yorkiegit26

    Yorkiegit26 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2018
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    40
    Maybe you need to look a little closer to home before blaming Hampy for people leaving this forum
     
    #106
  7. Westlake33

    Westlake33 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2011
    Messages:
    5,457
    Likes Received:
    1,179
    Well, been told from three people and we go around in circles with Mr Hampy belittling, argumentative etc.

    I’ve witnessed his crap for far too long - this seasons breaking point for me and if you speak to people the way he has for so long, I’m certainly not going to be hugely friendly back. Did bring it up earlier this season, so this isn’t out the blue from me.

    Funnily enough I manage good debate with everyone else, met a few people who won’t use the forum any longer due directly to Hampy.

    Regarding looking closer to home, if somebody hadn’t rocked the boat for so long I wouldn’t be being like this with Hampy now. I ignored his nonsense for far too long while he argued with others - others that won’t post now. Nice people in real life too, a real shame that this community has lost people but there we go.

    So cheers Hampy. You’ve made various people leave, however for me this is the final circle. Changes afoot. Really an absolute waste of time, energy and the current state of play has got painful.
     
    #107
  8. Nuggets

    Nuggets Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2011
    Messages:
    2,695
    Likes Received:
    2,614
    Despite improved performances lately, I’m not particularly optimistic about the quality of this squad and I think Lambert still has a big rebuilding job on his hands in the summer. As good as the performances against Forest and West Brom have been, as well as several draws, we still haven’t won a game in eleven attempts and we’ve consistently struggled and failed to win in several of the “big games” we’ve had this season. That suggest this squad lacks mental strength as well as the clear lack of quality we have in several positions on the pitch.

    We need a shake up in defence and up front. We will arguably need a new goalkeeper if Bart is on too much, especially considering both goalkeepers have struggled for form and confidence this season. The issues up front, and the disappointing lack of goals for all our strikers (apart from Will Keane), have been well documented on here. We have some bright spots in midfield, but replacing Chalobah, who has arguably been one of our best players this season amongst some really poor contenders, will be challenging. And as positive as Bishop and Judge have been, they are struggling with the fundamental aim of football as an attacking midfielder, getting goals and assists.
     
    #108
  9. YorkieLancsHampyLondoner

    YorkieLancsHampyLondoner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2011
    Messages:
    10,646
    Likes Received:
    2,402
    I think a big part of the solution is not about personnel but growing and getting the best out of the players we have. If we can't go out and buy quality ready made players in every position then we need to stop the revolving door mentality and work on improving the skill level and confidence of players. Not everyone will make it but 80% of the players on the periphery have got what it takes with the right kind of development programme. The problem is that for many years we have not valued them enough or had a growth mentality.

    That's why one thing I like about Lambert is the way he works his squad, which means everyone is involved, everyone has got an opportunity, the morale is high, the commitment is high. Add two or three good players in each window and that is a powerful formula for sustainable success.

    Sign one potent goalscorer who can get 20 + goals and they will set the example and set the pace in training and matches for the likes of Bish and Judge to start firing.
     
    #109
  10. YorkieLancsHampyLondoner

    YorkieLancsHampyLondoner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2011
    Messages:
    10,646
    Likes Received:
    2,402
    Not a fan of Miranda, although I know some women who can relate to her comedy it's not my cup of tea - but Mrs Brown's Boys has its moments.
     
    #110

  11. stretchyboy

    stretchyboy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2011
    Messages:
    2,285
    Likes Received:
    1,129
    This place always reminds me of this clip...

     
    #111
  12. YorkieLancsHampyLondoner

    YorkieLancsHampyLondoner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2011
    Messages:
    10,646
    Likes Received:
    2,402
    Or virtually any episode of the Young Ones or Red Dwarf... <doh>

     
    #112
  13. Nuggets

    Nuggets Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2011
    Messages:
    2,695
    Likes Received:
    2,614
    In terms of the youngsters, I think that’s particularly important (keeping hold of them and giving them the chance to develop and prove themselves). I think Lambert is the first manager since perhaps Jim Magilton who has consistently provided opportunities for the young players, and not just thrown them in during an injury crisis or giving them the sporadic 10 to 20 minute cameos. I don’t think we’ve got as good a bunch of young players as your more blinkered supporters on TWTD would have you believe, but at least they’re now getting the chances.

    I think recruitment has been an issue at this club for several years. Granted we are working under a tighter budget than most in this division, and Mick had a habit of unearthing some real gems, but on the flip side he packed the squad of old, unwanted players who, generally, contributed very little and went towards stifling a long-term playing style development.

    Hurst’s recruitment was almost exclusively focused on lower league players who, with the benefit of hindsight, have failed to make the step up this season, certainly on a consistent basis. For me, that’s the main reason for our relegation this season. Hurst inherited an average, mid-table squad with a few holes from departing loanees (Connolly, CCV, and Celina were important players), but failed to bring in the required quality. This squad is worse than last season’s: results, statistics, and almost every other metric support this.

    A couple of new strikers are certainly required and new defenders, in my opinion. But we may require more if we have to sell the few remaining saleable assets we have.
     
    #113
  14. YorkieLancsHampyLondoner

    YorkieLancsHampyLondoner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2011
    Messages:
    10,646
    Likes Received:
    2,402
    I think it's three factors related that are related to recruitment combining for a poisonous cocktail

    - The starting point of the squad of the team - poor form, poor quality, lack of depth. Forget average - Mick had an average squad three or four years ago. Hurst inherited a poor, bare bones squad that needed entirely rebuilding.
    - Lack of stability, direction, momentum contributing to all players old and new taking far too long to bed in and underperforming.
    - Ridiculous set of injuries to attacking players - Lankester, Harrison, Keane, Walters, Sears.

    and one that isn't:

    - A chain of catastrophic individual errors of judgement, some with hindsight, others not:

    - Letting go of McGoldrick
    - Letting go of Hyam
    - 'Sell to buy' costing us the services of Waghorn and Webster
    - Signing crocked players
    - Signing more loans than we can even field
    - Isolated striker
    - Chopping and changing 'keepers
    - Playing Spence at all
    - Sending Woolfy out on loan
    - The Knudsen fiasco
    - Changing manager just before key matches
    - Playing Quaner ahead of Jackson

    and LOADS more besides.

    So it's not any one thing.

    Most of all we need to change the narrative and Lambert is already doing it. Every footballer at the club under the age of 30 should be regarded as a potential Premier League player and I am not really talking about the academy products. They are signed only because they have that potential and not because we need to address an immediate gap in the side or squad. For the season nobody is talking about quality or any player not being good enough. Every summer the manager takes stock of who is realising that potential, training well, showing promise, working hard, good fitness levels, showing commitment or who is not and only at that point players are released or transferred out.

    We are in a situation now where if Evans stops making catastrophic errors of judgement and starts doing the basics of running a well-oiled football club I believe we can turn it around over two or three years. Actually for the first time in seven years I am not hungry for a change of ownership, although that would be even better.
     
    #114
    Bigalreigned likes this.
  15. Nuggets

    Nuggets Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2011
    Messages:
    2,695
    Likes Received:
    2,614
    Agreed it isn’t just one thing, and the ultimate responsibility must lie with our owner who has allowed this club to stagnate and decline over the last decade and a half. But the poor transfer business in the summer, and our entire approach, was wrong. We had to bring in a few players of quality to replace the likes of Webster, Waghorn, McGoldrick, and the departing loanees. We lost some good players, no denying that. But our incomings, and we spent a fair bit, were not Championship quality. Hurst should bear the responsibility for bringing in poor replacements. Evans bears the blame for allowing the squad to need such an overhaul and not giving an inexperienced manager free reign. I think most supporters realise this and it’s why Hurst’s time here is so unpopular.

    The squad Mick left wasn’t great, but he did a solid, impressive job with the resources afforded to him. For me, he didn’t utilise the academy well enough and the style of football just wasn’t developed, but in terms of results, and with the exception of one poor season, we overachieved with him in charge. If he was still at the club, I don’t think we’d be in this position. If Lambert was hired in the summer, I don’t think we’d be in this position. And if we hired a lower league manager but had an experienced assistant or Director of Football to put forward a coherent, sensible recruitment policy, we’d also be in a better position. But we’ve all discussed this to death over the past few months, so I think we all know where our opinions stand.

    As for some of your more specific points, I do question a few. The “sell to buy” approach is necessary for a club of our stature and finances these days. Almost all Championship clubs are in the same boat there, if you don’t benefit from the parachute payments or a super rich owner. Releasing Luke Hyam was not a failing, in my eyes a baffling claim, as he wasn’t a Championship quality player and his struggles at an ordinary Southend side show he isn’t a reliable or consistent player. Signing crocked players is emblematic of the budget we work in, where we typically buy injury-plagued players but then have only recently implemented a sports science system that would have monitored and better mitigated our injury issues. Another instance of Evans doing the bear minimum in terms of investment and hands-on management. I also question how much you hate the one up top system, as you seem to be much more supportive of Lambert lately (after your initial extreme disgust) and most of our encouraging, improved performances lately have been with one out and out striker up top in a 4-3-3 formation.
     
    #115
    Scowey likes this.
  16. YorkieLancsHampyLondoner

    YorkieLancsHampyLondoner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2011
    Messages:
    10,646
    Likes Received:
    2,402
    The incomings MOSTLY had the potential to be Championship or Premier League quality as with Luke Hyam. To summarise again IMHO the problem is not with who we brought in but how they have been utilised, expecting immediate results and the squad that they have come into. The problem for that group is exacerbated by a new manager coming in.

    We would get a net return on selling the players now compared to what we paid for them and the net return would have been a lot greater had the likes of Nsiala, Donacien, Harrison and Jackson been given a chance to bed in. Jackson is the one I question the most and at the other end of the scale I think it's an absolute farce that Donacien didn't nail down the right back berth - but Lambert came in with something personal against him. Harrison has looked very useful in moments and Nsiala looks to me like he is edgy every time he plays first team football - that damage was done to Nsiala by Hurst and not Lambert by the way.

    I am supportive of Lambert based on the performances and other things lately but we're still not scoring goals. I have no idea why Quaner is even at the club, but he has not been nearly as isolated as Jackson earlier on in the season now that Judge, Nolan, Bish and Edwards are pushing much higher. All the time we were playing Skuse and Chalobah together and playing deep football we were not creating chances and we had games where there was barely a touch in the opposition box or a cross coming in looking for one Town shirt against 6 opponents. We also only have two fit forwards at the moment and you cannot play them together every week for 90 minutes so this system is probably being forced on Lambert to some extent.
     
    #116
  17. Nuggets

    Nuggets Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2011
    Messages:
    2,695
    Likes Received:
    2,614
    We needed those incoming players this summer to step up, as the state of the squad demanded it. The staff and scouts at the club should have been hammering that point home to Hurst and Evans should have made that clear when appointing the new manager. Granted the old pros at the club have also disappointed this season (let’s be brutally honest, nobody has consistently played well for this basement side), but the old guard and the new signings clearly did not adapt to Hurst’s ever-changing tactics and formations. They’ve settled more under Lambert’s change of direction, but of the permanent summer signings, I’d argue only Edwards and Nolan have staked a credible claim for first team football. We could have brought in a couple of lower league players and acclimatised them to Championship football alongside some “diamonds in the rough” signings (ala Waghorn and Garner), but that wasn’t Hurst’s approach and his gamble has resulted in a lack of quality, firepower, and squad depth. I believe this is one of the primary factors in our relegation, an opinion shared by several on here and which is demonstrably borne out by the results and stats over the season.

    We would make severe losses on Jackson, Harrison, Donacien, and Nsiala. They aren’t good enough, so who would want to buy them? No Championship team would touch them. We’d probably have to loan then out to get them off the wage bill because no sucker will buy them. Edwards and Nolan could perhaps could fetch a decent fee (well Edwards would) but he’s not a regular for us and struggles away from home. Nolan’s had a run of good form, but hasn’t been a regular. We spent about £6 million on them and I honestly don’t think those players would make us more money than that, at this stage.

    We are not scoring goals because our current lot of strikers, Keane perhaps excluded, are nowhere near clinical enough for this level. We have been create enough recently, but cannot finish teams off. Even when we played two up top we struggled to finish off chances. We make at least one defensive mistake a match and struggle containing teams. We are without a win in eleven.

    In my opinion, to improve this team we need to strip the deadwood and offload both Bart and Dozzell to bring in money. Evans should show some ambition and look to get us promoted at the first attempt. Therefore we should sign Judge and we should bring in a solid, experienced keeper who is both vocal and commanding. Competition at left back and right back is key, as Kenlock and Emmanuel don’t look good enough. I’d argue we need two experienced strikers with a knack for goals. One of Jackson or Harrison to be sold / loaned out and I’d also move on Sears. To have a good shot at promotion, I think we’d also need somebody to replace Chalobah and play his role as a Downes doesn’t have the ability and Skuse isn’t that type of player. Bring back Woolfenden and maybe a fourth centre back to compete with Chambers and Nsiala, then I’d feel much more confident.
     
    #117
    fieldmarshall likes this.
  18. YorkieLancsHampyLondoner

    YorkieLancsHampyLondoner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2011
    Messages:
    10,646
    Likes Received:
    2,402
    The players have settled a bit now but the defence is still shaky, we are still not scoring goals and it took longer than Hurst ever had in charge.

    £6m is probably about right and sounds like a lot but that is for seven players. I'm fairly confident we could get a net return on those players even with relegation lowering their stock. We are paying millions out on loanees wages that don't yield any financial return. The permanent summer dealings really need putting into perspective. We spent a tiny sum at the very least most of which we can recoup, we've got at least two good players from it and really if the season hadn't been so shambolic it could have easily been four or five and a big net return. Having said that, the club has a track record of wastage, poor contract dealings and letting players go for a lot less than their market value so if Donacien, Nsiala, Jackson and Harrison all left on a free it wouldn't exactly shock me.
     
    #118
  19. Bigalreigned

    Bigalreigned Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2011
    Messages:
    3,805
    Likes Received:
    3,227
    I believe Westy (under another name)left TWTD in a huff too!
     
    #119
  20. Scowey

    Scowey Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2015
    Messages:
    887
    Likes Received:
    618
    Emyr Huws (remember him?) played 61 minutes for the U23's today

    Apparently made it through unscathed and the 60 minute mark was pre agreed so hopefully we can have a fit and healthy Emyr Huws ready for pre season
     
    #120

Share This Page